Lost Tales: The Death of a Warrior
by Stray the Canine
Summary: This is a series of stories in the perspective of the dying warrior cat.  Next Chapter: Sweetpaw


Moonflower, along with her Clan, was in a battle against WindClan. Goosefeather had received what he believes to be a sign from StarClan; he received a vole from a newly made apprentice named Bluepaw. The fur on the vole was facing the wrong way, causing Goosefeather to announce that it was a sign to raid the WindClan camp. Although most of the Clan disagreed with the old, speckled gray medicine cat, Pinestar accepted the omen and led the raid at dawn.

Moonflower was racing toward the medicine cat den at the WindClan camp. Her sleek, silver fur was one of the only pelts not splattered with blood. She was assigned to destroy the medicine supply when Goosefeather found catmint on the vole. No cat saw her; they were too busy with the battle. She looked back and forth, making sure that no cat had seen her—no WindClan cat, at least. She saw Pinestar, who had raced to the edge of the clearing where no cat had seen him. He dipped his head to Moonflower, whispering what seemed to be a prayer for the dark-striped she-cat.

As if Pinestar's dipped head was a signal, Moonflower raced into the medicine cat den, trying not to make such a ruckus. She ran to the wall of the den just beside the entrance, making sure no WindClan warrior had seen her. She scanned the medicine cat den with her pale yellow eyes. The den had enough room for sick cats and the medicine supply, but seemed much smaller than the ThunderClan medicine cat den, as are all WindClan dens.

She got up and cautiously walked over to the first supply, which was goldenrod that was carelessly placed on a boulder at the back of the den. _They must be begging us to destroy the supply,_ Moonflower thought. She looked around again and saw many wound-healing herbs lying on the boulders at the back and the rest in the small rectangular-shaped clefts in the back wall. _Good, so it must not be a trap,_ Moonflower concluded. _But the medicine cat around should have some more common sense than this._

Moonflower made it to the back of the den and lifted the goldenrod between her claws and started tearing the fragile flowers apart. She continued tearing while looking around her. She hadn't heard anything, but saw yellow eyes glaring at her on another boulder in the right corner at the den where the shadows covered it, surprisingly close to her. Moonflower let out a gasp before feeling pressure on her body after Hawkheart, the WindClan medicine cat, leapt at her, pushing her to the ground.

Moonflower raced out of the den, knowing she wouldn't win in the shadows. Hawkheart leapt on each shadowy boulder covering the den walls and leapt on the ground at the last boulder a quarter way out. He lunged at her before she could turn around to continue fighting now that she had more space. He snatched her up with his front paws, throwing her across the clearing. Moonflower was surprised, but refused to show fear. The only thing she wanted to show the medicine cat was that she won't give up. That a ThunderClan warrior never gives up. She forced herself to her paws and stood, head high, staring Hawkheart down. But once she stood up, Hawkheart was already racing toward her. He pounced on her, ripping her apart with his teeth and claws.

Moonflower felt the former warrior's teeth shredding her gently tapered ears and his claws digging in her throat. She started to go into shock as she struggled to breathe. She started thrashing in grip. She saw Hawkheart with a nasty sneer across his face. _I can't die here!_ Moonflower yelled in her thoughts. _I won't die at such a cat's paws!_ She forced herself to use all the energy she could. With her hind paws, she kicked at Hawkheart's stomach, throwing him off. Hawkheart let out a grunt of pain, holding up his left foreleg to the side of his stomach. Before he could wait for the pain to go down a bit, Moonflower leapt up. With a hiss of fury, the silver she-cat landed a searing blow to the dark brown tom's muzzle. Hawkheart seemed to have forgotten about the pain and pay attention to the battle. Moonflower stood in place, panting heavily. The poor cat felt the thick blood from her torn ears flow slowly down her face, forcing her to close her left eye as the blood from that ear was already flowing over the eye. Her throat had small, but deep, clawmarks in it. Small drops of blood dripped out of her throat.

Hawkheart, who had landed on the side of her bad eye, lunged forward in a direction Moonflower could not see. She felt teeth force its way through her throat and felt blood quickly gush out of it. Before she could even struggle, Moonflower was sent skidding in the blood of other cats, stopping many fox-lengths away.

Moonflower heard a familiar yowl from another side of the clearing, but couldn't see who it was past her left blood-soaked eye and her dizzy right one. There was no need to; she knew the yowl came from her daughter Bluepaw. Her dizzy eye flew around the clearing as if it had a mind of its own. It finally stopped, in Hawkheart's direction. His head was low and his yellow gaze burned Moonflower's pelt. He was walking closer, and closer, and closer…

"ThunderClan! Retreat!" She knew that was Pinestar, the ThunderClan leader's, call.

Hawkheart stopped in his tracks and let out an annoyed growl before sitting down, digging his claws in the wet earth. _He must be picturing me under those claws,_ Moonflower guessed. _Thank StarClan Pinestar ended the battle._ Moonflower forced herself to get up, her legs shaking with pain beneath her, before collapsing on the ground.

"This attack was unjust," she heard Heatherstar, the WindClan leader, spit. "StarClan would never have let you win."

Pinestar stayed still as if he hadn't hard Heatherstar's comment. _Why isn't he saying anything?_

"Take your wounded and leave," Heatherstar growled.

Pinestar stayed still for a few heartbeats before he dipped his head respectfully.

Moonflower watched as Pinestar gathered his Clan up. She saw how wounded and scarred the cats looked. _Was all Goosefeather said nothing but a pointless lie?_ Moonflower asked partly to herself, partly to StarClan. _Had my brother caused such a terrible battle to rage on for a vole that accidentally had its fur facing a different direction and catmint on its fur?_ She angrily dug her claws in the grass at the thought. She shook her head when she saw Stormtail and Dappletail together. The two warriors had grown very fond of one another, annoying Moonflower greatly. She was surprised that her _mate_ was starting to be with a new warrior more than his own love.

Moonflower's thoughts tugged away as quickly as they came. She lifted her head up, which caused blood to flow out of her throat much faster. _T__his is it…_ Moonflower told herself. _This is my last breath… I'm going to leave my Clan… my kits… my mate… I'm leaving them… at least… at least I died… a warrior's death…_ She died after that last thought, her eyes still half-open. The last she heard was the splashing of the bloody puddles and the last she saw was the blue-gray fur on Bluepaw. She was now taking her short journey to StarClan.


End file.
